Texas Western College (now the University of Texas at El Paso) was the first institution of higher education in a southern state to integrate, with a dozen African American students enrolling in 1955. Charles Brown became the Miners’ first Black basketball player in the 1956-57 season, followed by several others under head coaches George McCarty and Harold Davis. Coach Don Haskins arrived in 1961 for the first of 38 seasons and continued to recruit Black players. Though federal laws prohibited racial segregation in education, many southern schools resisted, particularly in athletics, through laws, policies and the refusal to play integrated teams. Texas Western transformed college sports in the 1965-66 season. Its fully integrated basketball squad compiled a 23-1 regular season record and joined the postseason NCAA tournament. Wins over Oklahoma City (89-74), Cincinnati (78-76, overtime) and Kansas (81-80, double overtime) earned the Miners a trip to the national semifinals at the University of Maryland. After defeating Utah 85-78, they faced four-time national champion Kentucky in the title game. In a historic first in a college basketball championship, all five starters for the miners were African American. Kentucky’s entire roster was white. Coach Haskins said he was not trying to make a more profound statement about race but was simply playing his best players. The Miners led 34-31 at halftime and demonstrated a superior defense and disciplined half-court offense in a 72-65 victory at Cole Field House. It was the only time in the 20th century that a Texas team won the NCAA men’s basketball title. The game was a watershed moment for the integration of college athletics, as southern universities began actively recruiting African American athletes. Texas Western inspired generations by achieving one of the most significant wins in both American sports and the Civil Rights Movement. (2019)